Interview: Mamoru Hosoda

by Justin Sevakis, Dec 22nd 2009

After making a huge splash with the debut of his first feature-length animated film The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, director Mamoru Hosoda makes a triumphant return to the film world with his new feature Summer Wars. While in Singapore to promote the film, he spoke with Justin Sevakis about some of the motivations and inspirations behind his work.

ANN: You're in Singapore to promote the release of your new film, Summer Wars. Could you tell us a little about the film, what it's about?

Hosoda: It takes place in what could be the near future, where people spend a large amount of their time on a big social networking system known as OZ. Our protagonist is a math nerd who gets tricked by a cute girl into pretending to be her boyfriend to her very large family. Then both he and the family get mixed up in a giant disaster in OZ that spills over into the real world, and they have to band together to stop it.

ANN: Now, the world of OZ has a lot in common with many of the social networks we use today, such as Facebook and Second Life. Did you have a particular network in mind when you made the movie?

Hosoda: Well, that's quite true that Second Life has a lot of similarities. Actually, the network I thought the most about was mixi. Do you know mixi? Do they use that overseas?

ANN: I've seen it, but it's a little hard to use if you're not Japanese.

Hosoda: (laughs) That's true, the interface doesn't have any English at all, does it? Well, it's pretty much the most ubiquitous service in Japan. It seems like everybody is on it.

ANN: What about you?

Hosoda: I have a Facebook account, but I never use it. (laughs) But I use Twitter a lot. I'm hooked.

ANN: Do you think the culture around social networking, and maybe the internet in general, is different in Japan than it is elsewhere?

Hosoda: People in Japan tend to really like their anonymity. Almost everyone uses a handle for their account names, never something derived from their real names. I guess it lets them feel more at ease, and lets them speak their minds more freely. They feel like they can be more free with their opinions because they don't have to worry about it reflecting badly on them. As for me, I think that's totally boring. I always use my real name.

ANN: The other major theme in Summer Wars is the idea of family, and the one in Summer Wars is almost comically large. What made that such an important theme for you?

Hosoda: Well, after The Girl Who Leapt Through Time wrapped up, I got married. And it was great, but you know, being an animator I'm pretty used to my solitude. Getting married means in-laws. Suddenly I had all of these new family members, and I was really struck by how those interpersonal relationships work. It takes a lot of effort, and sometimes those new family members are hard to deal with, but you can also make a very deep connection with a total stranger. That really meant a lot to me. I never really thought about the idea of "family" being the theme of a film before, but somehow it just clicked into place.

As for the size of it, big families mean constant chaos, and that feeling of being bowled over every second with a new relationship was important. Families in Japan these days tend to stay pretty small, so I guess a family that big would seem even more bewildering.

ANN: Was there any particular anime or animation that made you want to become an animator yourself?

Hosoda: I was, and still am, a huge fan of the works of Hayao Miyazaki. I spent a lot of time when I was younger watching his films. Also, the classic films from Disney, those were great.

ANN: Your films both feature stylized worlds that are very distinct in appearance: The Girl Who Leapt Through Time had the "time world" that Makoto falls through repeatedly, while Summer Wars has OZ. These worlds look very inspired by Takashi Murakami's "superflat" art style. Was he quite a big influence on you, particulary in working on the short film "Superflat Monogram?"

Hosoda: You're far from the first person to ask that. I had a great time working on Superflat Monogram, and of course I have great reverence for Murakami and his work. However, the look of those scenes isn't really something I made with his style in mind. Simply, it's a very clean, uncluttered look -- there's virtually no backgrounds, just layering and compositing effects -- and that visual simplicity appeals to me.

ANN: It's been a few years since The Girl Who Leapt Through Time was released. Are there any particular memories about its reception that stand out for you?

Hosoda: Well, the first festival I attended was the Annecy International Animated Film Festival. Do you know it? It's basically THE big festival for animation every year, and there's always a huge number of very impressive films from all over the world competing. There's always a huge gap between the short films, which tend to be very artistic and experimental, and the features, which tend to be very broad. It's the sort of place where there's an enormous amount of attention paid to the artistry of each film.

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time was really only made to connect with an audience of teenage girls, so I was very nervous about it competing on the same stage with all of these very novel works. So when we won [Mention Spéciale - Special Distinction], I was really moved. It was amazing to think that even in such a competitive environment, that so many people could relate to it. That was quite an experience.

ANN: Was that your best memory from its release?

Hosoda: Absolutely.

Special thanks to the staff of Dentsu, Kadokawa, Anime Festival Asia, Animation Asia Conference, Encore Films and Red Dawn PR for their assistance.

Wow! Hundreds of millions of dollars are flowing into the anime industry thanks to streaming! Is any of that money going to the people who actually make anime? Justin gets into it.― Custom Gundam asked: With ANN recently reporting that Crunchyroll royalties to the Japanese industry exceed US $100 million and also the huge amount recieved from global companies like Netflix and Amazon and also the va...

Take a journey back in time with Daryl Surat, when many people were introduced to anime through heartwarming films like My Neighbor Totoro and Grave of the Fireflies. But what forgotten gems lie sleeping in this long-ago year?― Every so often, I get questions regarding what the value is in observing what works of popular culture remain worth watching, decades after their creation. But nearly three m...

This beloved 2000s megahit is the newest to get a live-action update to the big screen, now available on Netflix after its theatrical run in Japan. Theron Martin finds out if this movie can live up to fans' expectations.― Fullmetal Alchemist was one of the most popular and successful anime/manga franchises of the 2000s, so the only surprise surrounding this live-action adaptation might be that it di...

Citrus has turned a few heads with its incestuous twist on lesbian romance. We suss out whether this makes for a juicy love story or just sour pulp.― Citrus has turned a few heads with its incestuous twist on lesbian romance. This week in anime, Michelle and Steve suss out whether this makes for a juicy love story or just sour pulp. Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the participants in...

Hiromu Arakawa's pastoral drama about the highs and lows of farm living at an agricultural college is a far cry from Fullmetal Alchemist, but just as rewarding. Rebecca Silverman has the details.― Hiromu Arakawa's agricultural coming of age tale's anime adaptation reached English-speakers long before now, which makes it feel like a real treat to finally get the chance to read the manga. Based roughl...

Paul discovers a hidden gem in a surprisingly lazy package with this lovely slice-of-life comedy. Plus, all this week's new anime releases and a brand-new Shelf Obsessed!― I've been working on putting together a Star Wars model kit recently, and holy heck that process is easier if you have a decent set of the appropriate tools. It's almost a relaxing experience when you don't have to threaten each ...

This attempt at a gritty action spectacle falls prey to confusing storytelling and baffling editing. Theron Martin examines what went wrong.― In the Summer 2016 Preview Guide, I gave the first episode of this manga adaptation a middling score, saying that it isn't without potential. Rarely have I looked back at a review and been more perplexed at what I wrote, as on a second view that first episode ...

There sure are a lot of gambling anime, but what's it actually like to gamble in Japan? Does anime paint an accurate picture? Justin gets into it.― Jake asked: I have recently been watching Kakegurui Compulsive Gambler on Netflix and it has me curious about gambling in Japan. Gambling is in a ton of anime from Samurai Champloo to Kaiji. Mostly I am familiar with the basic odd even dice game as well...

Mike digs into the legendary and idiosyncratic career of Ryousuke Takahashi, from Cyborg 009 to Armored Trooper Votoms to Phoenix.― A few weeks back, the Right Stuf folks were running some sort of cheap-o blowout sale, and one of the items for sale, along with a still-absurdly-large quantity of Geneon and ADV Films DVD backstock, was this hat. Yep, for just one dollar, you could be the proud owner o...

This adaptation makes great use of its difficult source material to tell a trapped-in-a-game/escape room story worth digging into. Rebecca Silverman explains why.― If you've played the original game of Ao Oni (“blue demon”) or watched the series of anime shorts, Kenji Kuroda's novelization may come as a surprise. That's not a bad thing, though – Kuroda's reimagining of the source material not only c...